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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716019">on the bound</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ganymede_elegy/pseuds/ganymede_elegy'>ganymede_elegy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>on the bound [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire &amp; Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon - Book, F/M, Petyr Baelish is His Own Warning, Post Book 5, Sansa is Alayne for half of this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:21:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,797</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ganymede_elegy/pseuds/ganymede_elegy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She hears about him long before she ever sees him again.</p><p>Tales, whispers on the wind, she catches bits and pieces but never the whole thing.</p><p>They call him Azor Ahai, the prince that was promised. They call him a dragon. They talk about him like he is a hero out of a storybook.</p><p>Jon is no hero, she thinks. Jon is just Jon, and he is no dragon.</p><p>Jon is a wolf, like she is.</p><p>Like Sansa Stark.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jon Snow/Sansa Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>on the bound [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872181</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>328</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>on the bound</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She hears about him long before she ever sees him again.</p><p> </p><p>Tales, whispers on the wind, she catches bits and pieces but never the whole thing because Father won't allow it.</p><p> </p><p>It takes her a while to figure out who they're whispering about.</p><p> </p><p>They call him Azor Ahai, the prince that was promised.</p><p> </p><p>They call him a dragon.</p><p> </p><p>She pays little attention to the gossip of the serving girls that giggle over legends and fables as she brushes out her hair. Those tales are for silly girls and she is not one. She is the bastard daughter of a minor lord and she has bigger things to worry about. Things like seducing Harry the Heir, with his roving hands and his roving eye. She has no use for warriors of legend, rising from the dead, sitting up in their funeral pyre, reborn.</p><p> </p><p>She ignores their gossip until she hears them call him a different name.</p><p> </p><p>They call him the white wolf.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The first time she hears this, she's walking back to her room, taking the long route so that Father does not <em>happen </em>to run into her on the way, as he tends to do. Two servants are walking along the corridor in the opposite direction and they don't bother to stop their gossiping for her (why should they, she's just a bastard girl).</p><p> </p><p>She recognizes immediately that they're talking about this <em>prince who was promised </em>and Alayne tries not to roll her eyes too hard. Talk has been growing of him, of his travels from the far North down towards Winterfell, gathering an army about him. Alayne has heard that this army is made of wildlings and giants and all manner of other horrors and she wonders how much of this is true and how much is fable. It all sounds made up to her.</p><p> </p><p>She decides to ignore them until she hears it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>White wolf.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Alayne's knees buckle and she throws a hand out to the wall to steady herself. One of the servants notices and asks if she's alright and Alayne waves her off.</p><p> </p><p>There's an uneasy feeling in her stomach and she almost calls the servant back to ask her about this white wolf, but she doesn't.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Father does not seem pleased at the gossip.</p><p> </p><p>She can't imagine he is. She knows her Father's ambitions and he can't be happy that there's a new player on the board, and one that he seemingly knows little about.</p><p> </p><p>It's strange, she thinks. Father knows everything. He knows things before the people involved even know it themselves. But this Azor Ahai, this prince who was promised, it seems like Father is only finding things out about him along with everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>Alayne knows this because she asks about him one day. She tries to bring it up casually, as she's serving Father some tea, she brings up this legend of a man and if she were anyone else, she would have missed the flash of anger that had passed over Father's face.</p><p> </p><p>“Who is he?” Alayne asks, for he is undoubtedly real. They've had messengers now, ravens, more than just gossip talking about a wildling from the north with an army of monsters. The army's goal seems to be Winterfell, currently occupied by the Boltons (and Alayne feels a thrill in her when she thinks about this, though she pushes it down. Alayne has no connection to Winterfell).</p><p> </p><p>“No one,” Father answers her and his nostrils flair ever so slightly and Alayne knows he's lying.</p><p> </p><p>“But who <em>is</em> he,” she presses, though she knows it's a dangerous line to walk. Father does not like to be questioned. “Surely he has a name.”</p><p> </p><p>Father grabs her wrist so tight it hurts, halting her hand as she moves to lift it from the teacup she has just set in front of him. He tugs on her arm harshly and she complies and sits in his lap like he wants.</p><p> </p><p>“A piece,” he whispers, his mint breath making her want to choke. She doesn't, she keeps her face blank. “Just another piece for us to play with.”</p><p> </p><p>His hand loosens on her wrist and he runs his fingers up her arm and it sends an unpleasant shiver down her spine. Father seems to like this reaction and his fingers ghost over her collarbone, up her neck, to her chin, which he takes between his thumb and forefinger and keeps her in place as he leans forward to kiss her.</p><p> </p><p>She stays still, she lets him do this, she ignores the thought that this is not what a father does to his daughter.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She is desperate to hear of the white wolf.</p><p> </p><p>There's something in her that's trying to claw its way out, something she fights against, something she <em>must</em> keep down, though she doesn't know why.</p><p> </p><p>At night she dreams, sometimes, of a litter of puppies, rolling around in the dirt. There's one in particular who's better behaved than the rest. This puppy sits and stays and begs for food politely. A lady. Alayne loves all the puppies, but she loves this one the most.</p><p> </p><p>And then they're bigger, all of them, and she cannot call them puppies anymore and they leave her, one by one. Alayne does not want them to go, something about their turned backs rips her heart to pieces, but at least she still has the one, her own, so sweet and polite.</p><p> </p><p>When she turns to look at this one, she watches the blood pour from it's neck and Alayne screams herself awake.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She's trying to get Robert to eat his food, he's decided he does not <em>want</em> his dinner and is shouting his displeasure. Alayne can see Father's mouth tighten in annoyance and she feels her heart leap in her chest. Sweetrobin is just a boy, she thinks. Just a sickly boy with an heir and once Alayne marries him, she knows Robert will no longer be safe from Father. She knows Robert will die.</p><p> </p><p>Once she is Alayne Hardying, Robert will die.</p><p> </p><p>She's managed to calm Robert's tears when a messenger rushes in, out of breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Winterfell,” he heaves, hands on his knees. “It has fallen.”</p><p> </p><p>Alayne faints.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When she wakes, there are maids in her room, tidying, and she hears them speaking.</p><p> </p><p>“...<em>dragon</em>...”</p><p> </p><p>“...<em>thought his sister was there...”</em></p><p> </p><p>She sits up in bed and the maids notice her, finally.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened?” she asks.</p><p> </p><p>“You fainted,” one of them tells her.</p><p> </p><p>Alayne doesn't care about this.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened... Winterfell?” she remembers the last words she heard before she blacked out.</p><p> </p><p>“Army from the north took it over,” one of the maids says dreamily.</p><p> </p><p>“The white wolf,” Alayne exhales and the maid nods.</p><p> </p><p>“Aye, they say he's got a white direwolf, big as a horse.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Direwolf</em>.</p><p> </p><p>She feels dizzy and there's something that bubbles up from the pit of her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>She whispers it and she's lucky the maids do not hear her.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” one of them asks.</p><p><br/>
“Nothing,” Alayne says. “Who is he?”</p><p> </p><p>She knows who he is.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Jon Snow.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She <em>knows</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“Lord Commander o' the Nights Watch,” the maid gossips. “Least, that's what they say. They say he was killed by his own men and came back from the dead when they tried to burn him.”</p><p> </p><p>Lord Commander? Jon was Lord Commander?</p><p> </p><p>“They say he's a <em>dragon</em>,” the other's eyes are wide and starry, like she's talking about a hero out of a storybook.</p><p> </p><p>Jon is no hero, Alayne thinks. Jon is just Jon, and he is no dragon.</p><p> </p><p>Jon is a wolf, like she is.</p><p> </p><p>Like Sansa Stark.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They say he rides his direwolf into battle.</p><p> </p><p>They say he cannot be killed.</p><p> </p><p>They say he has been declared King in the North.</p><p> </p><p>They say he has a wildling queen at his side, the most beautiful woman this side of the Narrow Sea.</p><p> </p><p>They say he wields a flaming sword and bends giants to his will.</p><p> </p><p>They say, they say, they say.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It cannot be Jon.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's Jon.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>How can he be a Lord Commander, a man of the Night's Watch, and yet ride south to retake Winterfell?</p><p> </p><p>How can the dead come back to life?</p><p> </p><p>None of it makes sense, but Sansa holds her tongue.</p><p> </p><p>They haven't told her his name yet, but she knows.</p><p> </p><p>A white direwolf.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Jon.</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She watches Baelish's mind work. She watches him try to recalculate, to fit this piece, to arrange Jon Snow on his board. He needs information and the only person who knows Jon Snow is Sansa.</p><p> </p><p><em>Alayne,</em> she thinks venomously. <em>You are Alayne, are you not?</em></p><p> </p><p>How desperate <em>Father</em> must be to risk this. To coax Sansa out to dig for information (though Sansa is already out, but he does not know this. Sansa Stark was reborn the moment Jon came back to her).</p><p> </p><p>“He's quiet,” she tells Littlefinger, widening her eyes slightly. Not too big, too big will give it away. Just enough, like this is a surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“Quiet,” Littlefinger repeats, all tight smiles and angry eyes. She's never seen him so off balance and she tries not to revel in it.</p><p> </p><p>She lifts her shoulders in what she hopes is a dismissive shrug. “We weren't close as children,” she says, and it's not a lie. “He was close to Robb and Arya.” (Her siblings names on her tongue taste like ash and she wants to spit it in Baelish's face.)</p><p> </p><p>His fingers tap out a quick rhythm against the table. It's short, staccato. He's furious (her heart soars).</p><p> </p><p>“Surely,” he gives her his slick court smile, “you know <em>something</em> about your half brother.”</p><p> </p><p>She tilts her head. “I stayed away from him, Mother didn't like him,” she says, and it's still not a lie.</p><p> </p><p>This is what he taught her, half truths, simplicity. No actual lies. She watches him try to figure out if she's keeping information from him and a thrill runs through her when she realizes he isn't sure. He still thinks he has a hold on her. It's his greatest weakness, that he thinks he's more clever than everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>And perhaps he is. He's cleverer than she is. Sansa may not be the smartest, she might not be the quickest, but she <em>learns</em>. Even when she has to learn the hard way.</p><p> </p><p>When she's finally allowed to leave the solar, she goes to her room and she undresses and takes the pins out of her hair and gets under the bedding and pulls the furs over her head and it's only then that she allows herself to smile.</p><p> </p><p>She knows a lot about Jon Snow.</p><p> </p><p>They may not have been close as children, but she remembers him more than she let on. She remembers how dedicated he was to learning the sword, how he'd best Robb and even Theon in the practice yard, though Theon was years older. She remembers how desperately he wanted to be a Stark. She remembers him sulking in the great hall during feasts, seated at the back. Always eager to prove himself.</p><p> </p><p>It's been years since Sansa knew him, but she knows that boy is still with Jon, no matter how much has happened to him, just as the girl Sansa used to be is still with her, deep down.</p><p> </p><p>All of this would give Baelish enough to use Jon, to manipulate him.</p><p> </p><p>She doesn't want him to have it.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She messes up nearly a moon later, lets her mask slip.</p><p> </p><p>She's sitting with Littlefinger, taking tea with him and he's smiling at her like he has a secret (he has many, but this smile means he has a <em>specific </em>secret, for her).</p><p> </p><p>“It seems,” he says, holding his teacup delicately in front of him, “that it's been confirmed by a Maester in the Citadel.”</p><p> </p><p>“What has, Father?”</p><p> </p><p>“That Jon Snow is not your half brother, but your cousin.”</p><p> </p><p>She stays very still and he watches her, watches for her reaction, for how she feels about this news.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dragon.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The rumors have been whispered, that he survived the flames, that he's got Targaryen blood, but Sansa knows there's no way. There were no female Targaryens of child-bearing age alive when Jon was born, it's not possible. Sansa had assumed his resurrection by fire was a tale told to make him seem grander than he was, as most tales are.</p><p> </p><p>No, the only Targaryens alive had been four children, Daenerys and Viserys who had escaped east, Aegon and Rhaenys, killed in the Rebellion, the Mad King Aerys, and Rhaegar Targaryen himself.</p><p> </p><p>Rhaegar Targaryen, who had kidnapped Lyanna Stark.</p><p> </p><p>Her aunt.</p><p> </p><p>She loses her neutral expression when it comes to her and she watches Littlefinger's mouth curl up into a pleased smile. She can see his plan sliding into place in his head and she feels dread pool in her stomach. She knows what he wants.</p><p> </p><p>Harry the Heir is nothing compared to a King.</p><p> </p><p>The Vale is nothing compared to the whole of the North.</p><p> </p><p>The North is nothing compared to the North, the Vale, and the Riverlands, all united.</p><p> </p><p>Under her.</p><p> </p><p>As Jon's Queen.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She'd be able to go home. To Winterfell. If she does this, she can go home.</p><p> </p><p>She agrees to his plan. Littlefinger will invite Jon Snow to the Vale and she will seduce him. The same plan, replacing an heir with a king.</p><p> </p><p>She tries not to think of Jon too much, tries to focus on the plan. She knows that marrying him will mark his death. Not right away, not until everything is settled. Best case scenario, he dies in battle and the work is done for Baelish. If not, he'll wait a few years and when everyone is starting to feel safe, Jon will die. Some accident will happen, nothing that can be traced to Baelish, but Sansa will know.</p><p> </p><p>But she'll be home, and she'll be Queen.</p><p> </p><p>She can do this.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When Jon Snow arrives at the Vale, it's with the smallest retinue Sansa thinks a King has ever had. A few men, his direwolf.</p><p> </p><p><em>Ghost</em>.</p><p> </p><p>She stifles the cry that threatens to tear itself out of her throat as she catches sight of Ghost in the distance. Ghost is the first thing she sees, it's <em>all </em>she sees. She wants to run to him, wants to bury her face in his fur. She wants to be three and ten again, letting Ghost lick her fingers as she giggles and Lady waits patiently for her turn.</p><p> </p><p>When they ride through the gates, she's waiting beside Littlefinger and Robert, who is standing tall in his most formal attire, playing at being a Lord.</p><p> </p><p>If anyone in the Eyrie has anything to say about her newly washed out hair, shining copper in the sunlight, they keep it to themselves.</p><p> </p><p>Baelish wants her recognizable.</p><p> </p><p>The closer the men get, the more unsure she feels.</p><p> </p><p>When she sees Jon for the first time, truly sees him, she almost loses herself and she has to lock her knees so that she won't fall over.</p><p> </p><p><em>He looks so much like father</em>.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He looks like the North.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jon rides up on a dark horse with Ghost at his side and his eyes are level and calm as they sweep over the Arryn household, over Robert and Baelish and then...</p><p> </p><p>And then he sees her.</p><p> </p><p>She knows he knows who she is, she watches his face go slack for just a moment and he almost seems to rear back on his horse, like he's seeing a ghost.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes stay on her as he dismounts and she finds she can't look away from him, either. She shouldn't, she should have her mask on, she can't let Baelish see this, but she can't <em>stop</em>.</p><p> </p><p>She wants to run to him. She wants to throw herself into his arms. She wants to feel that he is real, that he lives and breathes and is solid beneath her hands.</p><p> </p><p>She thinks he wants it, too.</p><p> </p><p>And then, to her surprise, against her will, she does.</p><p> </p><p>She rushes forward and Jon meets her halfway and she's in his arms and she doesn't care that Littlefinger sees, she doesn't care that there are dozens of people watching them.</p><p> </p><p>Jon is <em>here.</em></p><p> </p><p>It doesn't matter that he's her cousin, it doesn't matter that he's half Targaryen, it doesn't matter if he's the prince who was promised or a king or a man of the Night's Watch. None of it matters.</p><p> </p><p>The only thing that matters is that it's Jon, and that he's <em>here.</em></p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Littlefinger doesn't matter.</p><p> </p><p>As Jon holds her, face buried in her hair, arms so tight around her she can barely breathe, she knows that Littlefinger is <em>nothing</em>.</p><p> </p><p>He won't harm them. He <em>can't </em>harm them.</p><p> </p><p>They are wolves, and winter is coming.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did I write this instead of sleeping last night? You betcha. Did I have work today? Sure did.</p><p>This is my first attempt at canon stuff. Tbh, I don't feel super comfortable writing canon because it's been a hot minute since I read the books and I definitely don't have the voices down. This is also my first one shot! And it's staying that way, unlike my last attempt at a one shot that turned into more than that.</p><p>Thank you all for reading whatever this is!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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